Real judgements, distilled
Court judgements broken down into the case type, how the decision played out, and the lesson worth remembering, with the full judgement available as a PDF.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1094
An older qualification must still satisfy the eligibility rules governing the appointment sought. Here, the certificate's early date did not secure reinstatement, and rejection of eligibility should not be confused with a conclusive finding that the certificate was forged.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1095
A party benefiting from a conditional stay must meet its deposit requirement or face enforcement. The additional ₹15 crore deposit secures the pending dispute; it does not settle the land's final compensation or amount to an immediate payment to the landowners.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1093
An alleged attempt to kill does not become a lesser offence simply because the victim avoided a fatal injury. Restoring this charge means the accusation must be tried; it does not establish that the accused is guilty.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1090
For the assessment in this case, assistance reducing ordinary manufacturing costs was taxable even though the government wanted to encourage industry. The purpose and actual operation of the particular subsidy mattered more than its general development label.
Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 1091
Proof that someone caused a serious injury does not by itself prove the additional ingredients of robbery. A court can substitute a lesser offence supported by the evidence; the sentencing reduction here depended on Appa's particular circumstances.
Special Leave Petition (Civil) · 2026 INSC 1092
Someone challenging an election must ensure that the personal-presentation requirement is met and can be proved. Merely entering the court building does not establish compliance, and a filing defect can end the challenge before the election allegations are examined.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1088
An employee who retires on 30 June may be entitled to the increment that falls due on 1 July after completing a year of service. Authorities that delay paying the amounts due must pay interest after the deadline set by the court.
Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 1089
Recruitment must follow the qualifications stated in the advertisement and the governing Recruitment Rules. A court will not override a merit-based eligibility decision made under those rules merely because the candidate concerned was higher in the written test.
Writ Petition (Criminal) · 2026:DHC:8797
A person who occupied property only because of employment has no independent right to remain once the employment and decree end. Even when a petition fails, courts can make practical arrangements to let a person recover personal belongings.
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Log in to see moreOrion Conmerx Pvt. Ltd. (the "Insured") suffered a fire at its premises and filed an insurance claim with National Insurance Co. Ltd. after the insurer allegedly under-assessed the loss. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission partly allowed the Insured's complaint, holding that the surveyor had not proved the fire was non-accidental and fixing the loss at Rs. 61,39,539 with 9% interest, relying on the Insured's Bank Auditor, Architect and Chartered Accountant reports. Both the Insurance Company and the Insured filed cross-appeals before the Supreme Court challenging different parts of this order.
The Supreme Court dismissed the Insurance Company's appeal and allowed the Insured's appeal (modifying only the interest rate to 6% per annum from three months after the fire until payment). The Court criticized the Surveyor's report for arbitrarily applying a flat average unit price of Rs. 450 per item without accounting for non-identifiable/charred goods or differences in the nature of the stock (e.g., leather jacket vs. bag vs. belt), and found no reason to discard the Insured's regularly maintained cost sheet, which tallied with other primary documents like purchase orders. The Court reiterated that the objective of a fire insurance policy is to restore the policyholder to the financial position they were in before the loss.
An insurance surveyor's loss assessment is not sacrosanct. Courts and consumer forums can reject a surveyor's report if it is based on flawed, generalized assumptions and contradicted by the policyholder's own contemporaneous business records (like cost sheets and purchase orders).
